Traffic will resume, but will remain disturbed “Wednesday departing from and arriving at the Gare de l’Est in Paris, with one in three TGVs during rush hour, after an arson attack which largely prevented trains from arriving or leaving the main station this tuesday.
” This morning, we suffered an act of sabotage around 3am. We have discovered (…) significant damage “, said Olivier Bancel, number two of SNCF Réseau, during a press briefing. ” It is an act of sabotage on signal cables which include safety circuits. »
The fire burned 48 cable arteries, i.e. approximately 600 electrical cables “At a signal box in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), according to the public company. These cables are essential for railway signalling, for green and red lights on the tracks. The SNCF therefore stopped all traffic to avoid collisions between trains.
The SNCF lodged a complaint and the Meaux prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for willful degradation and endangering the lives of others. “ There’s no trail, no band claim “, told AFP in the early evening a source close to the investigation. ” There is no way to predict who or why there was this act of sabotage, which has greatly harmed our customers. “said Olivier Bancel, operations and network manager at SNCF. But according to an executive of the railway company, the authors of this ” sabotage “knew” necessarily the network “, saw the place targeted.
Traffic is expected to resume on Wednesday
Earlier today, Transport Minister Clément Beaune denounced “ an outrageous act of malice ” who ” must be punished and sentenced “. He mentioned “ traces of gasoline “and a fire” in two target points “.
Repairs are tedious. “ Very specialized teams are working “, explained Olivier Bancel. “ There were about fifty cables which were damaged, which were set on fire. And around 600 safety circuits. You have to take them one by one, check them, repair them. We make no concessions with safety “.
On Wednesday, traffic will resume, but slowly: one in three TGVs will run at peak hours and one in two during the day, departing from and arriving at the Gare de l’Est. One Transilien out of 2 is planned on line P (Meaux and Château-Thierry axes) at peak times and “ normal traffic with off-peak adjustments “. TER Grand Est traffic should be normal “ with service adaptations “.
(With AFP)